'Kuih lapis'

The preparation


Have you ever tasted 'kuih lapis' before?


During the Raya holidays, my maid and I decided to make 'kuih lapis' because we were bored :lol

It seems complicated to make, but actually it's quite simple.


First, you take out two huge bowls, and fill them with boiled water.


Then, you add in some sugar and stir. Add in some coconut flavouring, and stir. And then, add in some flour, and stir. (for both bowls).


Then, add a little colouring/flavouring into both bowls.


(meanwhile, heat up the 'wok', and the water inside).

When it's well-mixed, pour in the mixture into a cake tin. Use separate ones for each flavour/colour.

Then comes the most time consuming part, the part which requires your uttermost patience.

Spread the first layer on top of the tin, with the tin on a metal holder placed above the boiling water in the wok.

Cover the wok, and wait for the layer to turn slightly solid, before spreading the second layer ( of a different colour).

Repeat this until you have enough layers.

Let it to cool down, before placing in the fridge.


It turned out fine in the end, except for the fact that I accidentally poured too much red flavouring in, giving the kuih a very red colour!

My mum's new shop....

One of the rooms

My office!

My mum in her office

The lobby

more to come.....

Hari Raya Visiting

This photo was taken several years ago. To my left is my paternal grandfather.

These few days, I've been so well fed!
Have been visiting houses of relatives ( from my father's side) and tucking myself into the delicious kuih and rendang and curries and what not. Hehe....
The Malays really take the time and effort to make all these yummy cakes and meals.

And my mum's new shop is finally completed. And I've to say....it looks....amazing. Very professional. You've to go visit there to find out for yourself what I mean. ;) So many rooms! And everything looks very systematic.

I forgot to bring my camera during hari Raya visiting....so, no photos :(

And I forgot to bring my camera down to my mum's shop today. Was planning to take some photos of it. Oh well, maybe sometime later this week.

You know you're a medic student when.....

I got this from zzzyun's blog.....and thought it to be rather amusing....


1) You have ever said "Netter is god"
Huh? What's that?!
eta : ooh....I just finally realized what...or rather who....Netter is. Is it referring to Frank Netter, who drew all the complete anatomy drawings and produced the complete 'Atlas of Clinical Anatomy" ( or something like that). I have the book, but it's to complicated to follow! Maybe good for pbls....especially with Htin Aung....*winks

2) You can discuss autopsy/ anatomy over a meal
Ummm.....not really. I don't have a problem with doing so though.

3)You own a 4 color pen
Nope, just 2- blue and black

4) You use more than one color to take notes
Nope. I'm lazy.......

5) You have used up more than 6 highlighters in the past 6 months
I guess so....but don't we all? ;)

6) You have even highlighted something YOU wrote
Yes.

7)You retype handouts given in class
Haha, if only I have the patience and time to do that. There was a time I did try to rewrite the lecture notes. But didn't last long.

8) You haven't had a date in 3 months
I never had a date before in my life. Pathetic right?

9) You haven't had a date since entering med school
Please refer to above.

10) You have not been able to remember the normal term for something because you were thinking of the medical term (ie reflux for heartburn) -
Hmm....maybe it did happen to me before, but I forgot....

11) You get more sleep in lecture than at home
I'm glad to say that I do pay attention to lectures nowadays

12) You know the correct spelling for pruritus
Is it 'puritus' or 'pruritus?'

13) You also know what it means
Haha, yeah, I know what it means. Acute inflammation and neutrophils come into mind.

14) You have ever asked a question in class
I never had the guts to do so :( In front of a class of 167 students

15) The prof. didn't understand the question
Sometimes people find it hard to understand me.

16) You didn't believe the answer the prof. gave
We have to learn to trust those more experienced than us!

17)You went to look it up to see if they were right
I wouldn't be bothered to do so, hahah

18)You can't hold a conversation on anything other than medschool
Actually, come to think of it, it might be quite true....although of course not all the time. I use goings on around the uni as a conversation stimulator.

19) You skip class to study
I used to do so in school,. but because now it's 2 lectures per day, seldom.

20) You've said you didn't do well on a test on which you beat the mean
Hah, I wish I can beat the mean! Well, I did once only, and I was pretty honest than.

21) You spend more than 15 hrs a week on e-mail
E-mail, no. Internet yes.

22) You have a callous on your finger from writing
Yes! My middle finger on my left hand

23) More than one professor know you by name
I try to keep myself very low profile

24) When you ask a question, a new professor has said "Oh, I've heard of you"
Nah.

25) You can name more amino acids than past presidents
Yeah.

26) You use more than 5 acronyms an hour when talking
Yes! I think every IMU student the same.

27)You actually know what PERRLA stands for
Nope! Sorry....

28) You know all the steps of the TCA cycle
Have learnt that before, but kindof forgotten.....I hate biochemistry!

29) You do not read PTA as parent teachers association -
I read it as Persistent Truncus Arteriosus :D

30) You can remember the muscles in the forearm
Umm.....biceps? triceps? Deltoid?

31) You know the structures in the urea cycle -
as I said.....I hate biochem!!

32) You know the dermatome distribution
Nope, I don't know what is dermatome

33) You can't remember what you had for breakfast
Well, I do remember that I skipped breakfast......as usual.....

34) You can'3t spell world, much less backwards
World. Dlrow.There you go.

35) You've ever been sexually aroused by the breast shadow on an X-ray
I don't know about guys, but I'm a girl, so no.

36) You equate "morning stiffness" with Rhematoid Arthritis
Ummm.....not really, although it could very well be a symptom...

37) You actually know normal values for plasma Na
No!

38) Missing class causes you extreme stress
Umm....not really....

39) You have seriously asked someone "So how does that make you feel?"
I'm not a very straightforward person.

40) You have asked will this be on the exam
Yesh.

41) Just after the prof. said it wouldn't
More like before.

42) You identify with Deb on E.R.
I don't watch E.R. Oh....and neither do I watch 'Grey's Anatomy'.

43)You have made a medical joke
I can't make jokes :p

44) no one laughed
People seldom laugh at my lame jokes

45) You wear your stethescope around your neck on the bus --
I don't like to show off, so no.

46) You don't even know which way the thing goes in your ears -
Omg, I admit that I actually didn't know until the long holidays when I practised taking BP

47) "SOB" means shortness of breath to you
SOB also means Shine On Brightly!!!

48) You have gone to student health with suspicion of a disease you have studied -
Hehe, refer to my blog post a few posts back.... ;)

49) within 3 days of the lecture
Refer above

50) You have answered a question in class - nope
asked by the professor - I'm not that smart


More to come!!!

Being random

Referring back to a couple of weeks back...... http://ailingsblurbs.blogspot.com/2007/09/i-failed.html I was very sure that I would fail my CVS/Respi exam.

Well, the results were released yesterday- which was much sooner than I imagined. Good news is I managed to pass!! Phew. I don't know what I would do had I not passed. (I've never failed an exam in IMU before).

Bad news is, I barely managed a pass. Meaning that- I merely scrapped through the exams.
A lot of people did better than me- and most people got Bs ( as usual).

I am thankful that I passed when I really thought that was going to fail. But I have to study harder for future exams. Yup.

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Continuing with my random streak, (which started off with the ear piercing last week), I decided to cook spaghetti for my housemates, and my cousin. First day, the tryout- I dumped the carrots in too late, so the carrots weren't cooked enough :p Following day, my housemates helped me out, and this time it was more successful- and so I invited cousin Mervin over- since his birthday is coming soon.

And I suddenly decided to join the choir too, today.

Guess what I did....

Yep, guess what I did today.....

Besides going to church and attending the SJC rocks musical (which was really great, btw......it touched on many important daily issues in life. The actors and actresses were great!)

And besides going to Carrefour.

Yes, I decided to re-pierce my ears. It was a very random and last-minute decision of mine. It actually wasn't my idea at first.....I wasn't intending at all to pierce my ears today. But then housemate Fang Han suddenly voiced out her longing to get her ears pierced today, (which can be considered a big surprise since she's not the girly type) so I decided to accompany her. And yes, I ended up going first because she was too afraid of pain.

I wasn't worried about pain. What I'm much more worried about is....the long-term effects of the piercing. You see, my skin is very sensitive, and almost anything can trigger an allergic reaction to my skin. I had pierced my ears before, when I was much younger, but then my ear holes became inflammed, and so I had no choice but to remove the earrings. And the holes gradually closed up after several years.

Hopefully I'll have better luck this time around! I do want to look pretty, or at least presentable, you know! Just a little something to raise my self-esteem. (That will be another topic altogether).

The photo can't upload at the moment- so that'll have to wait

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Ok....I've decided to add in more about the SJC Rocks musical. Performed by the students of Subang Jaya College, and based on the very popular 'High School Musical'- it features the daily lives of high school students. Quite an ordinary plot... But then the performances of the actors and actresses really blew me off! They far exceeded my expectations.....it was indeed a very strong and solid performance by them all. Hats off to the cast of SJC Rocks!! They must have rehearsed numerous times for the actual thing.
And the issues touched on by the musical.....about self-esteem....how we always tend to think 'How I wish I can be like this girl.....how I wish I can be as pretty and smart and popular as her'. I thought to myself....that was sooo me! Lol And the single mother-son relationship was also very touching for me, growing up in a single mother household as well.

*a huge applause to the SJC Rocks cast!!

Anaemia?

So this week marks the start of a brand new system for us sem 3s- the Hematology system. For the next 4 weeks or so, we would be learning everything about our blood system.

As I read the lecture notes and do PBL, something is bugging my mind.

Read:

Symptoms of anaemia:

tiredness,
lethargy,
feeling faint, and
breathlessness.
Poor concentration
Pallor

Tiredness and lethargy? Check. I feel tired and lethargic all the time, especially when I exercise.
Feeling faint? Yes. Particularly after exercise.
Breathlessness? Same.
Poor concentration? Check
Pallor? That is only for serious cases right? But then again, more than once, people have commented that I look pale.

Hmmm...... How about the couple of times , especially recently, when I go to the nearby park for a jog, and end up feeling to tired and weak to even walk back to vista? How about coming back from a casual basketball practice yesterday feeling faint by the time I reached home? How about not being able to donate blood each time I tried to- because tests indicate that my serum iron levels are low? Is there any explanation for that? Not enough sleep? Not bothering to take my vitamins?

Anaemia is the condition whereby our body fails to produce enough red blood cells and haemoglobin in our circulation. As a result inadequate oxygen supply is carried throughout the body, resulting in the above mentioned symptoms.

Could I be suffering from anaemia? If yes, which type might it me? Iron deficiency anaemia? Pernicious anaemia? Megaloblastic anaemia? I'd better get a blood test done.

And in the meantime, I'll continue doing my PBL.

eta: gosh!! Today's PBL was soo draining! Didn't help that the faci has to interrupt every single point we make and ask us zillions of questions- all which I do not know the answer to.